A Father's Day rememberance for retired Priests

Father’s Day collection June 19-20 to aid retired priests
CLARION HERALD

By Peter Finney Jr.

To hear them describe their
ministry as retired priests, life
indeed begins at 75.
Freed from the daily concerns
of parish administration,
they are still celebrating
Mass in parishes across the
Archdiocese of New Orleans
when needed, and they relish
the extra time they now have
for prayer and study.
“We may not be as busy as
we were in the active priesthood,
but retirement has
given us more time to pray
for the church and to pray
for other people,” said Msgr.
John Tomasovich, 85, who
retired in 2000 as the longtime
pastor of St. Andrew the
Apostle Parish.
The ministry of retired
diocesan priests will be a
major focus at all Masses on
Father’s Day weekend (June
19-20). That’s when the archdiocese
will take up a special
collection to help defray the
medical and pension costs of
retired diocesan priests.
The collection is critical
because of demographics
that indicate a graying of the
priesthood.
Caring for their elders
Father Rodney Bourg, who
heads the Priestly Life and
Ministry Committee, said the
archdiocese has 67 retired diocesan
priests, and there are
another 28 priests who are
between the ages of 65 and
75.
“We have a total of 143
active priests right now, so
if you take away 28 from
that total, that means we
will soon be looking at 115
active priests,” Father Bourg
said. “We do not have a secured
retirement fund. We’ve
operated like Social Security,
where the active priests help
pay for the retired priests. But
with those numbers, that’s
not going to work.”
Five priests who are 85
or older are still celebrating
Mass at parishes, Father
Bourg said.
“I substitute whenever the
priests in the River Parishes
need somebody for a week
or a day, and I also celebrate
Mass every weekend,” said
Msgr. Robert Vincent, former
pastor of St. Joan of Arc in
LaPlace, who is 80.
He said his life has been enriched
because he has more
time to visit with neighbors
and friends and pray with
and for them.
“I live next door to a chef,
who brings me all his leftovers,”
Msgr. Vincent said.
“My AC man is three minutes
away, and a nurse lives next
to him. The sheriff lives at the
end of my street. Best of all,
the undertaker lives across
the street and has a key to
my house. If the light on my
porch is not off by 10 in the
morning, he can bring the
wagon over for me.”
Msgr. Tomasovich said
he feels priests who retire
“should be doing something
in service, because if you
don’t do that, then you might
feel useless.”
“I’ve come across a way of
life that suits me,” he added.
“I get up between 4 and 4:30,
and that’s a wonderful time
to pray. I don’t rush it. I try
to remember everybody who
touched my life, living or
dead. I also walk the neighborhood
between 6:30 and
7 and bring the paper to the
door for old people.
“I really feel how much in
need I am of God’s love and
forgiveness,” Msgr. Tomasovich
added.

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached
at pfinney@clarionherald.org.